After Congress Passes Bipartisan Energy Bill, Experts See A U.S. Nuclear Renaissance

Last month, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill designed to streamline the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) supervision of the current U.S. nuclear reactor fleet, potentially expediting the permitting and deployment of advanced reactors.

The legislation, known as the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, requires the NRC to revise its mission statement within one year.

This revision must “include that licensing and regulation of the civilian use of radioactive materials and nuclear energy be conducted in a manner that is efficient and does not necessarily limit” their civilian use or benefits.

Additionally, to speed up the deployment of nuclear energy capacity, the bill urges the NRC to expedite licensing and create new incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technologies.

The ADVANCE Act specifically calls on the NRC to:

• Reduce certain licensing application fees
• Develop licensing review processes for nuclear facilities on brownfield sites
• Create expedited procedures for combining reactor license applications for pre-approved commercial reactor designs on or near existing or former reactor sites
• Establish risk-informed and performance-based guidance for microreactor licensing
• Coordinate with the U.S. Department of Energy on advanced nuclear fuel qualification and licensing

The nuclear industry’s response to the bill has been mixed. Proponents emphasize the advancements that streamlined licensing processes will bring to nuclear innovation, calling it a major step forward in advanced innovation.

This bill will “support efforts to further modernize the NRC as it prepares to review an ever-increasing number of applications for subsequent license renewals, power uprates and next-generation nuclear deployments,” said Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick.

Similarly, NANO Nuclear Energy CEO and Head of Reactor Development James Walker stated, “A major killer of [nuclear projects] is that lengthy licensing process.”

He noted that these processes can sometimes cost more than the reactor themselves, citing how the bill will “reduce the overall capital cost of each unit.”

However, some nuclear organizations have expressed skepticism, raising concerns about the bill’s safety implications.

“This legislation not only misdirects vital resources away from suitable energy solutions but also poses severe environmental, economic, and security risks,” said Beyond Nuclear.

Similarly, Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, stated, “The change to the NRC’s mission effectively directs the agency to enforce only the bare minimum level of regulation at every facility it oversees across the United States.”

Lyman expressed concerns that the ADVANCE Act’s efforts to streamline NRC licensing could undermine the commission’s mandate to protect public health and safety.

He warned that it could provide the nuclear industry and its allies “even more ammunition to push back on safety and security advances that could well be necessary to ensure licensing of these new reactor designs is safe.”

Lyman also warned that the legislation could create discord between NRC commissioners and staff, noting delays in the NRC’s new “risk-informed, technology-inclusive” licensing process.

In March, the NRC ordered revisions to a criticized draft rule, causing a six-month delay.

In the meantime, new reactor technologies like TerraPower’s Natrium reactor are using the existing framework, with non-nuclear construction beginning earlier this month in Wyoming.

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